Chapter 27: The Seal of the Immortal Alliance

"Why is the Xuantian Sect collecting these?" If low-grade spiritual plants were meant for alchemy, what purpose could common herbs possibly serve? Could they actually be planning to strengthen themselves by recruiting large numbers of mortal disciples who have yet to draw in spiritual energy?

"Enough. In the end, they are nothing more than insignificant upstarts. Do they truly believe that possessing the power to contend with Nascent Soul cultivators is enough to threaten the Immortal Alliance? It is nothing but wishful thinking!"

"The world is always short-sighted, believing the Nascent Soul stage to be the pinnacle, never realizing how many things exist that they wouldn't even dare to imagine." The elders below nodded in agreement, not taking the tiny Xuantian Sect seriously at all. After all, only those present knew what kind of trump cards the Immortal Alliance truly held.

The reason for targeting the Xuantian Sect several times prior was solely for the sake of what lay within the forbidden zone.

"Alliance Leader, should we... send more people over?" someone asked tentatively.

The leader was just about to speak when the entire Immortal Alliance suddenly shook violently. Even the grand hall swayed, as if something were about to burst forth from deep underground.

*ROAR...*

A sound akin to an ancient roar echoed throughout the Immortal Alliance, causing the hearts of everyone present to tremble. Immediately following, rays of light from various formations flared up all around, and the shaking gradually subsided, only returning to stillness after a long while.

The man at the head of the hall regained his composure, his expression darkening. He swept his gaze across the assembled elders and said, "That thing is becoming increasingly active. You all know the severity of it waking up; we must never let it break through the seal and return to the Boundary Sea..."

He did not continue, and the expressions of those present turned somber.

"Of all times, it had to be now. If it weren't for the fact that the thing beneath us requires the suppression of the seal, a mere small sect wouldn't even be worth our attention. However, we must quickly find out what the Xuantian Sect obtained from that forbidden zone. Regardless of whether it is related to that thing, it must be kept under our control."

Those present understood the importance of the matter, their faces growing increasingly grave. After a while, someone stood up and suggested, "This matter is urgent, but we have already lost two Nascent Soul elders. To take down the Xuantian Sect, unless we deploy those things...?"

"No!" someone immediately objected. "The seal is currently unstable; it took all of us working together to barely suppress it. If we deploy those things, it will only accelerate the collapse of the seal. We cannot take that risk."

"Then what are we to do?" the elder who had made the suggestion frowned. "We cannot leave the Immortal Alliance as it is now. Are we to just sit here and wait for the Xuantian Sect to come to our doorstep?"

"To destroy the Xuantian Sect, why would we need to do it ourselves?" A purple-robed elder sneered, casting a glance at the others. "As long as we leak a hint of the information regarding the forbidden zone to the Luoxia Sect and the Chiling Sect, there will naturally be others willing to act as our pawns."

"You mean..." The eyes of those present lit up, and they quickly agreed. Using another's blade to kill was indeed an excellent strategy.

"Then it is decided." The Alliance Leader at the helm nodded and quickly formed a seal, sending out an order. Feeling the tremors rising from below once more, he glanced at the group and said, "Continue to suppress the seal. As long as we hold out through this period, everything will naturally be resolved."

The others did not speak further, instead forming seals in unison. The next moment, a formation lit up throughout the grand hall, enveloping all the elders. With a flash of white light, they all vanished from the hall and reappeared elsewhere.

The place was a void—no sun, no moon, no wind—as if it were a separate dimension carved out of reality. Within this space, nothing existed but interlocking magical formations. The runes of these arrays were spread throughout the space like chains, though they were clearly aged, their light somewhat dim.

The elders of the Immortal Alliance were now seated at the various focal points of the arrays, pouring their spiritual power into them without pause. As the energy flowed in, the dim formations were rekindled, becoming dazzling once more.

Within the center of this vast and complex array sat a massive sphere. The sphere itself was pure white, but it emitted a crimson glow from within. Every formation was connected to this sphere, with strands of spiritual energy piercing into it, as if extracting something. Every so often, massive shadows could be seen slowly swimming within, as if some gargantuan beast were slumbering inside.

The entire space reverberated with rhythmic, booming echoes, like the tolling of a great bell—as if...

As if something were beating.

***

"A dragon?" Yu Xuan was stunned. "Doesn't such an existence only exist in legends?"

Qiu Ci frowned, even though what she saw in the image was clearly real. "So, there are no dragons in this continent, or perhaps no records of them?"

"Indeed, I have never heard of anyone actually seeing a true dragon," Yu Xuan nodded, then added after a moment of thought, "Divine beasts like dragons and phoenixes exist only in ancient legends. Even those who awaken the bloodline of the dragon clan are extremely rare."

"Dragon bloodline!" Qiu Ci was startled and quickly asked, "Are you saying that people can awaken such a bloodline?"

"Naturally," Yu Xuan nodded. "Although most people awaken bloodlines inherited from their parents, there are a few exceptions. As long as the bloodline appeared in ancient times, it is possible to awaken it, and the dragon is no exception."

"Then... can those who awaken the dragon bloodline fully transform into a dragon?" Qiu Ci thought of the dragon in the agreement, wondering if that was also a manifestation of the bloodline.

"That is impossible," Yu Xuan shook his head, stroking his long beard. "Bloodline awakening only enhances certain aspects of one's talent—for instance, the Lingyu bloodline is more adept at water-based arts. However, the physical manifestations of a bloodline are fixed, and these features tend to diminish as one's cultivation level rises, sometimes even disappearing entirely."

"Disappear?" Qiu Ci blinked. Did he mean they would turn into normal human forms?

"Exactly!" Yu Xuan nodded, pointing to the top of his own head. "I am of the Yang sheep bloodline. Before I awakened it, I had a pair of horns, but after I reached the Nascent Soul stage, they simply vanished." He then pointed to his large ears. "Now, only my ears retain the traits of the bloodline, but if I continue to cultivate, they should disappear as well. Therefore... I suspect that once one reaches the Spirit Severing stage, all bloodline traits disappear entirely."

Having said this, he cast a meaningful look at Chu Qiu Ci.

Qiu Ci was momentarily stunned. She then realized that ever since she reached the Spirit Severing stage and moved to the remote back mountain to farm, she had never asked the system to apply a disguise for her. In other words, she had no deer antlers on her head; she was in a completely human form.

So, Yu Xuan assumed she had simply cultivated to the point where her bloodline traits had vanished? It was a beautiful misunderstanding, and Qiu Ci decided not to explain.

However, she hadn't expected that the higher the cultivation, the fewer the bloodline traits. Thinking back to the days when she was anxious and fearful of being exposed because she had no bloodline to awaken, she realized she had been worrying for nothing.

"By the way, speaking of the dragon bloodline..." Yu Xuan suddenly thought of something and added, "Fellow Daoist Chu, you could ask that young disciple of Qi Hong's. He is the one who awakened the dragon bloodline."

"You mean Jing Hong?" That social recluse! Qiu Ci was shocked. "He has the dragon bloodline?!"

"Yes," Yu Xuan confirmed with a nod. That was also the reason he had been taken in as the sect leader's personal disciple.

"Then I'm heading back!" Qiu Ci could no longer sit still. After bidding him farewell, she rushed back to the back mountain.